EBR sheriff sworn
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East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreaux was sworn into office Tuesday on the first day of the four-year term he was elected to in November, promising again to add more deputies to the street and strengthen ties with the community.
Gautreaux was also sworn into office on Dec. 4 to fill the unexpired term of Sheriff Elmer Litchfield, which ended Monday. Litchfield was succeeded by former Sheriff Greg Phares, whom Gautreaux defeated in November.
After being sworn in Tuesday by Judge Duke Welch of the First Circuit Court of Appeals, Gautreaux swore in Col. Ricky Adams, his chief criminal deputy, and 20 new deputies.
Of those 20 new deputies, six of them will be employed in uniform patrol, Gautreaux said. They join 18 others who have been added to uniform patrol since Gautreaux took office in December.
A goal for his first year in office is to add one deputy per shift at each substation, meaning 20 additional deputies would go to uniform patrol, he said. In doing so, Gautreaux said, his deputies will develop relationships with residents that can pay off when they call deputies with information about crimes.
“Working with the entire community, that’s the only way we’re going to get things done,” Gautreaux said. “We cannot accomplish our goals by simply doing it ourselves.”
In a brief speech before more than 30 people crowded into a conference room at the Sheriff’s Office, Gautreaux listed accomplishments in his first seven months in office that included increased benefits and pay for deputies, improved interoperability with other agencies and a public affairs division charged with working in the community.
But Maj. Les Rainey, the chief of uniform patrol, said an emphasis on uniform patrol and community policing could pay the biggest dividends in the future.
A 29-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office who has worked most of his career in uniform patrol, Rainey said those deputies increase visibility and can prevent crimes from happening.
The office’s addition of a Community Policing Unit, which is currently focusing on the high-crime Gardere Lane area, allows deputies to take time to meet and greet residents and discuss problem in their communities.
“I think it’s time for us to get back in touch with people,” Rainey said. “If it’s a combined effort, it’s going to have a bigger impact.”
Most of that impact will come from street-level deputies, said Gautreaux, who applauded a 60 percent increase in the number of checks on businesses and community patrols initiated by deputies rather than those requested by residents.
Gautreaux was also sworn into office on Dec. 4 to fill the unexpired term of Sheriff Elmer Litchfield, which ended Monday. Litchfield was succeeded by former Sheriff Greg Phares, whom Gautreaux defeated in November.
After being sworn in Tuesday by Judge Duke Welch of the First Circuit Court of Appeals, Gautreaux swore in Col. Ricky Adams, his chief criminal deputy, and 20 new deputies.
Of those 20 new deputies, six of them will be employed in uniform patrol, Gautreaux said. They join 18 others who have been added to uniform patrol since Gautreaux took office in December.
A goal for his first year in office is to add one deputy per shift at each substation, meaning 20 additional deputies would go to uniform patrol, he said. In doing so, Gautreaux said, his deputies will develop relationships with residents that can pay off when they call deputies with information about crimes.
“Working with the entire community, that’s the only way we’re going to get things done,” Gautreaux said. “We cannot accomplish our goals by simply doing it ourselves.”
In a brief speech before more than 30 people crowded into a conference room at the Sheriff’s Office, Gautreaux listed accomplishments in his first seven months in office that included increased benefits and pay for deputies, improved interoperability with other agencies and a public affairs division charged with working in the community.
But Maj. Les Rainey, the chief of uniform patrol, said an emphasis on uniform patrol and community policing could pay the biggest dividends in the future.
A 29-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office who has worked most of his career in uniform patrol, Rainey said those deputies increase visibility and can prevent crimes from happening.
The office’s addition of a Community Policing Unit, which is currently focusing on the high-crime Gardere Lane area, allows deputies to take time to meet and greet residents and discuss problem in their communities.
“I think it’s time for us to get back in touch with people,” Rainey said. “If it’s a combined effort, it’s going to have a bigger impact.”
Most of that impact will come from street-level deputies, said Gautreaux, who applauded a 60 percent increase in the number of checks on businesses and community patrols initiated by deputies rather than those requested by residents.
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